An Unlikely Friendship
by Violet Darcie
Summary: Elberth is the second daughter of the Lord Elrond. She has spent most of her life travelling around Middle Earth learning about the different cultures but what will she do when she is confronted with a peculiar company of twelve dwarves, one hobbit and one wizard?


An Unlikely Friendship

Elberth was sitting on the large red velvet sofa that stretched around her room under the window. Delicately she turned the page of a 400 year old book on the legends of middle earth. She then breathed in the scent of the old book so she could capture the smell that she loved so much. "Umm." Elberth said to herself as she thought of the old book shop owned by a partially foul mouthed Dwarf who had charged her double for being an Elf. However the memory was short lived as she was soon pulled back to reality by the sound of metal hitting the ground and talking coming from the entrance to the hidden pass. Elberth placed the book on the table in front of her and walked over to the mirror. After checking that she didn't look too much of a mess, she slipped her feet into a pair of shoes and made her way down to the main entrance.

On her way down, Elberth passed Lindir going in the opposite direction. "Lindir we are about to have guests, please go inform the others. Where is my father?" she asked him.

"Lord Elrond has gone on a patrol. I will go welcome our guests. I'm sure the others will soon become aware of their arrival as well." he said walking with Elberth to the entrance. Elberth began to lag slightly behind. As nice as Lindir was, he was slightly pompous and she would prefer the guests to not have the same view of her.

Once Elberth and Lindir reached the main entrance they saw Mithrandir with a company of thirteen Dwarves and a Hobbit. It took quite a lot of strength for Elberth not to run and hug him right there and then as Mithrandir was a very good friend of hers who she had not seen in a long time. Employing that strength, Elberth let Lindir walk down the steps and greet the company first, while she waited on the walk way. She caught Mithrandir's eye when he looked up and smiled at him sweetly. Taking this as her cue to welcome the visitors, Elberth went to make her way down when she heard horse hooves in the distance. She then spotted her father returning from his patrol. She immediately ducked behind the closest pillar to hide from him. This sudden movement however did not go unnoticed as the leader of the Dwarven company spotted a flash of red silk and brown hair as she hid.

Once her father had dismounted and his back was to her, Elberth made her way back up to her quarters to wait until dinner was served. Mithrandir and his friends plagued her mind however. She wished intensely to find out why they were here but most of all, who they were.

Time soon passed as Elberth continued to read her book it was only until another Elf turned up at her door did she realise the time. "Mama, you have been requested at dinner." the elf said politely. Elberth nodded and made her way down to the dining area.

Elberth took her place at the taller table while twelve of the thirteen Dwarves and the Hobbit sat at a lower one. She smiled to herself as she heard one Dwarf with a tattooed head ask where the meat was. Soon, her father, Mithrandir and the last Dwarf arrived and sat at the table. Elberth smiled at Mithrandir as he sat down on her left and nodded at her father across from her. However the Dwarf now sitting on her left awoke something in her memory she couldn't quite place her figure on, a vague memory of a previous meeting maybe. She absentmindedly smiled and nodded at him while she tried to grasp at the memory that was just out of her reach.

Once all three were settled, Lord Elrond spoke. "This is Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin and leader of this company." he said gesturing to the Dwarf. Elberth looked at Thorin and saw a hint of something in his eyes that allowed her to grasp the memory. Meanwhile Thorin recognised the colour of her dress and hair from the short flash he had seen earlier when she ducked behind the pillar. Elberth bowed her head. "This is Elberth, Lady of Rivendell, and my youngest daughter." Elrond said introducing Elberth. Thorin bowed his head but kept his eyes on her the whole time.

Most of the dinner was spent in silence on Elberth's part as the males talked amongst themselves about swords they had found in a troll hoard. It wasn't until Mithrandir and her father where talking among themselves that she spoke. "You don't remember me do you"?" Elberth said to Thorin. "I don't make a habit of affiliating with elves." he replied his voice clipped.

"You use to." Elberth smiled at the once happy memory, "We've met once before, when your grandfather was King Under the Mountain. I came with our king to pay homage to the line of Durin. I remember the caverns overflowing with gold and the Arkenstone set in the throne over your father's head. It was a sight of beauty and I was truly upset at its destruction.". At this Thorin scoffed. "You elves never cared for anything that wasn't yours, you…" it was at this point Mithrandir gave Thorin a disapproving look and he fell silent. Once the meal was over, Elrond, Mithrandir, Thorin, the Hobbit and another Dwarf returned to Elrond's chambers to discuss a map that they had brought with them. The other Dwarves retired to their room for the night. Elberth, unlike most of the Elves of Rivendell, felt sorry for the company and somewhat intrigued. So after retrieving a large plate of assorted meat from the kitchen, she went to find their room.

When Elberth reached the Dwarves' room, which wasn't hard to find as it was the noisiest of them all, she knocked three times. The room suddenly went silent and the door was opened by the same tattooed Dwarf whom she had heard ask about the meat at dinner. "Yes?" he asked flatly.

"I noticed you didn't eat much at dinner, I have met Dwarves before I seem to think this is more to your liking." Elberth said pulling the plate of meats out from behind her back. The Dwarf closed the door on her and whispering could soon be heard from the room. After a few moments the door was opened by the same Dwarf. "Thank you." the Dwarf said, taking the meat. He was about to shut the door when a younger looking Dwarf piped up. "At least let her in Dwalin, what harm can she elf do?" he said, addressing the other Dwarf. Dwalin huffed and stepped aside to let Elberth in.

Inside, Elberth found eleven Dwarves sitting around the room all dressed in what she presumed to be their long underwear. In the middle of the room was a fire and a Dwarf with a funny hat sitting next to it breaking up bits of furniture to put on it. Elberth gasped clasping her hand over her mouth. "What's wrong?" asked the younger Dwarf from earlier.

"That is an antique elm table made by the men of the north; it's over 200 years old." she said. The Dwarves looked around. "Sorry." said the Dwarf with the funny hat. Elberth smiled and shook her head. "However it was also the most repulsive piece of furniture I have ever seen. It's not a great loss." she said sitting down on the edge of the bed where the younger Dwarf from earlier was lying along with another young blonde Dwarf.

Dwalin tossed out the meat for each Dwarf to catch, which they did with no trouble at all. "I do hate to sound rude, but I must admit I do not know any of your names." Elberth said looking shameful. The young Dwarf with brown hair smiled. "I'm Kíli and this is my older brother Fíli," he said gesturing to the blonde Dwarf who raised his hand and smiled. "Dwalin you've already met," the tattooed Dwarf raised a hand "Dori," a Dwarf with whitish grey hair pulled back in plaits nodded at her "Nori, his brother," a Dwarf with star like hairstyle nodded "and their younger brother Ori." a gentle looking Dwarf smiled at Elberth "Óin, Dwalin's cousin," a dwarf with an ear trumpet looked around hearing his name "Glóin, his younger brother," a dwarf with quite an impressive ginger beard "and Bifur, he can't talk because of that bit of axe in his head," he said pointing to the Dwarf trying to cook the lettuce over the fire. "Um Bifur," Elberth said "you don't cook that, you eat it raw." This earned her a grunt from Bifur as he went to take a bite. "Bofur, Bifur's cousin," Kíli continued and the Dwarf with the funny hat smiled "and last but not least, Bombur, his brother." the fattest Dwarf looked up momentarily from his food and then went back to eating.

Kíli smiled and Elberth took a deep breath. "That's a lot of names to remember." she said. Kíli nodded. "Well now you know all ours can I ask yours?" he asked.

"My name is Elberth, lady of Rivendell and daughter of Lord Elrond." she said smiling. Bofur let out a whistle. "Look sharp boys we have a Lady in our midst." he said causing all of the Dwarves to laugh.

Once the laughter died down the dwarves began eating and chatting among themselves. Elberth learnt of the quest and struggle the dwarves had been through since the loss of their homeland, the ordeal their kind had been through appalled and shamed her as it had been her race that had allowed such a thing to happen. Suddenly there was large crack and the table Bombur had been sitting on broke beneath him. The room erupted with laughter. Elberth wiped a tear from her eye. She hadn't had a laugh with friends for years.

Once everyone in the room had calmed down, Ori turned to his brother and said, "I like her, she's pretty." Dori elbowed his brother but Elberth just smiled. "Thank you Ori." she said. The room soon once again descended into chatter with Elberth telling the Dwarves about her travels around Middle Earth and some of the stories she had heard along the way. After a while the door opened and Thorin, the Hobbit and another Dwarf entered the room. Upon their arrival, Elberth rose and bowed as Thorin passed her. "What is _she_ doing here?" Thorin demanded. The room was quite until Kíli quietly said, "She brought us some meat Thorin and then we began talking." Thorin grunted and then turned back to the group. "We're leaving at first light get some sleep." he then turned back to Elberth "you've had your time to talk now leave." Elberth stood her ground. "Actually Thorin, I wish to talk to you, in private." she said. The room suddenly became even quieter, if that was possible. Thorin gave Elberth a dark look but she was not fazed. The new Dwarf placed a hand on Thorin's shoulder and his gazed lighted somewhat. After a moment Thorin nodded and gestured for Elberth to follow him outside the room.

Once outside Elberth sat down on the bench just outside of the room and Thorin stood with his back to her looking into the distance. "Thorin I know why you are here, I've read the signs and heard of your quest." she said looking at his back. Before her stood one of the few people she admired, Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin and one of the bravest people in Middle Earth.

"No matter what say you can't stop us." Thorin said not even looking.

"I'm not going to try and stop you, I want to help you." Elberth said honestly.

"I don't want the help of an Elf." he snapped. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "You are just like your grandfather" she said quietly.

"What do you know of my grandfather and what does that mean?" Thorin asked darkly.

"I knew him when he was king under the mountain and it meant you were just as stubborn as him but you are also a great man." Elberth said admirably "When your people where lost and in need of a leader you stepped up, you created a new life for them, you have a whole people on your shoulders but it doesn't faze you and I admire you for all these reasons. You are the type of person I wish I could be." Thorin turned slowly round to face her. "You are an Elf you know nothing of how the world works or the bonds of friendship and loyalty." he said harshly.

Hearing Thorin say such things hurt Elberth but she was determine to make this Dwarf see that she only wanted to help him. "And that speech shows you know nothing about me Thorin Oakenshield. I am not like most Elves; I have travelled this land extensively and seen much more of it than most. I understand the bonds of loyalty for when I was in trouble many of the people I had met on my travels came to my aid as I would come to theirs if they were in need of it. If that is not friendship and loyalty then what is? I am sorry for what my kin did by abandoning your kin when Smaug attacked your home, believe me when I say I tried to convince my father to send some help, I even appealed to the king but they cast me aside like you are doing now as young Elf who knew nothing of the world." she said standing up to her full height. Thorin smiled and let out a small laugh. "You are certainly like any Elf I have met." he said sitting down.

Elberth smiled and sat down next to Thorin. "I get that a lot, but I do honestly want to help you Thorin in any way I can." she said honestly. Thorin looked at her, she was a mystery to him, he should hate her yet she interested him, there was just something about her. He defiantly had feeling towards her but he wasn't sure where they were positive or negative. "There is nothing you could do to help the quest." Thorin said gently.

"If there ever is anytime you need my help just look to the water and say my name and I will help in any way I can." she said. Thorin smiled at her.

"Thank you, I hope we meet again Elberth, Lady of Rivendell." he said standing up. Elberth stood up and bowed to Thorin.

"I hope so too. May luck be on your side Thorin Oakenshield." she said kissing him slightly on the cheek.

Thorin smiling slightly bowed his head to Elberth and went back into the room of Dwarves. Elberth smiled to herself and made her way back to her private quarters hoping that she would see the company again.


End file.
